Inking apparatus.



No. 875,079. PATENTED DEC. a1, 1907.

R. T. JOHNSTON.

INKING APPARATUS. APPLIGATION FILED FEB.13. 1904. RENEWED MAY 13, 1907.

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No. 875,079. PATENTED DEG. 31, 1907. R. T. JOHNSTON.

INKING APPARATUS. APPLICATION EILEE PEB.13, 1904. RENEWED MAY 13, 1907.

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I \m H No. 875,079. PATENTED DEC. 31, 1907.

R. T. JOHNSTON.

INKING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 13. 1904. RENEWED MAY 13, 1907.

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. time and has UIT ROBERT T. JOHNSTON,

PRINTING PRESS & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW TION OF NEW YORK.

OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE CAMPBELL YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- INKING APPARATUS.

Patented Dec. 31, 1907.

Application filed February 13, 1904. Serial No, 193,428- Renewed May 13, 1907. Serial No. 373,379.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT T. JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Inking Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an inking apparatus for printing presses, and the especial object of my invention is to provide an improved ductor mechanism for taking ink from an ink-fountain, and transferring it to one or more distributing rollers.

A further object of my invention is to secure a more perfect distribution by interrupting the direct transmission of the freshly deposited daub of ink through a train of dis tributing and composition rollers.

To these ends, my invention consists of the arts and combinations of parts, as herein after described, and more particularly point ed out in the claims at the end of this specification. 1 g In the accompanying three sheets of drawe ings, Figure 1 is a sectional diagram just inside one of the side frames of a press showing my improved inking apparatus. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, Figs. 3 and 4 are diagrammatic views illus-. trating the operation of a rotary ductor constructed according to my invention.

In the ordinary form of inking apparatus for printing presses, the ductor mechanism consists of a roller, which reciprocates or oscillates between a fountain roller that is motionless or approximately so, and a fast-running distributing or receiving roller; that is to say, at one point in its travel, the ductorroller has to contact with a stationary roller, and at another point in its travel, has to contact with a rapidly running distributing roller. As a result of this construction, the ductor-roller which is made of glue and molasses, and is loosely journaled in its bearings or arms, is battered to pieces in a short to be frequently replaced, for, when the ductor-roller comes into contact with the fast-running distributing-roller, it must start in motion therewith, and, when it comesginto contact with the substantially stationary fountain-roller, this motion must be stopped. To run any length of time in an inking mechanism of ordinary construction, the ductor roller must be made very hard and solid, and this, in itself, prevents good inking, as the best results can only be attained with a roller having a soft surface. Again, in the ordinary construction of inking apparatus, it is not possible to oscillate the ductor roller faster than once for every three or four impressions, and, therefore, at each trip, the ductor roller has to take off and carry a considerable quantity of ink from the fountain to the distributing rollers. Modern printing machinery is constantly being run at higher speeds, and, as it is not feasible to increase the speed of the ordinary form of ductor roller, it follows that a greater quantity of ink must be taken from the ink-fountain at each reciprocation of the ordinary ductor when the same is used in connection with the modern high-speed printing machinery.

The especial object of my present inven tion is to provide a ductor-mechanism arranged so that the ductor-roller will move in an orbit whereby it can be operated rapidly, the parts being arranged in relation to the path or orbit of the ductor so that the ductor will be moving comparatively slowly when brought into contact with the fountain roller, and will be moving more rapidly when brought into contact with the distributing roller or distributing rollers.

In the ordinary forms of inking apparatus employing a train of metal or distributing and composition rollers, it is now ordinarily the practice to have a constant peripheral engagement between the rollers which constitute such a train. This permits a fresh daub of ink to be transmitted directly from one roller to the next roller.

A further object of my present invention is to arrange one or more of the distributing rollers so as to have an interrupted contact with its composition rollers, and to thus secure a more perfect distribution of the ink by interrupting the direct transmission of the fresh ink from roller to roller.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown an inking apparatus constructed according to my invention as applied to that type of printing press in which flat forms are arranged to travel in an orbit past the inking mechanism in one direction. It is to be understood, however, that my inking mechanism is equally applicable to other forms of flat-bed or rotary printing presses.

Referring to the drawings and indetail, A and B designate the ordinary side-frames of the machine. Secured between the sideframes A is an ink-fountain 0 having a fountain-roller D. The fountain roller D may be given a slight turn or partial rotation at intervals by any of the usual ratchet mecl1- anisms, as F, applied to the fountain-roller shaft E. J ournaled in the side-frames A and B is a shaft 10. Secured on the shaft 10 are arms 11 having a shaft 12 journaled Secured upon the shaft 12 near therein. one end thereof is a gear 13. A disk 14 is secured on the shaft 12, near the opposite end thereof. Pivotally mounted on the gear 13 and disk 14 are plates 15 and 16, which may be secured in adjusted position by means of screws 17. A ductor roller 18 is journaled in the adjustable plates 15 and 16. As. illustrated, the gear 13 meshes with a stationary internal gear 19, which may be supported from the side-frame A by belts or studs in any of the ordinary or preferred manners.

Shafts 21 and 22 which may be journaled in the side frame B, and lugs carried by the internal gear 19, are provided with primary distributing rollers 20 and 200. Cooperating with the distributing roller 200 is a train of distributing and composition rollers, com-prising metallic distributing rollers 23, 24 and 25, and intermediate composition rollers 26,27 and 28. Cooperating with the primary distributing roller 20 is a train of distributing rollers 31, 32 and 38, and intermediate composition rollers 33, 34 and 37. A composition roller 36 is arranged to transfer ink from the distributing roller 51 to a supplemental distributing roller 39. Cooperating with the distributing roller 25 are form-rollers 29 and 30. Cooperating with the distributing roller 38 are form-rollers 40 and 41. Cooperating with the distributing roller 39 are form-rollers 42 and 43.

The forms G receive ink from the formrollers, and, as illustrated, the forms are ar ranged. tobe moved in a right-lined path or orbit.

The gearing for driving an inking mechanism, as thus constructed, may be arranged in any of the ordinary or preferred manners. As illustrated bydotted lines in Fig. 1, 44 designates a shaft, to which power may be applied in any of the ordinary or preferred manners. Secured on the shaft 44 is a gear 45, which meshes with and drives gears 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53 for turning the distributing rollers 200, 23, 24, 25, 28, 32, 31 and 20. The gear 55 of the distributing roller 39 is driven from the gear 51 by means of an intermediate 54. Secured upon the driving-shaft 44 is a pinion 56, which, through an intermediate 57, drives a gear 58 on the shaft 10.

The operation of a rotary ductor as thus constructed, is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. As shown in these figures, it

is to be noted that the ductor roller 18 will be moved in a substantially hypo-cycloidal orbit, and will travel at different relative speeds at different points in its length. In practice, I preferably arrange the fountainroller D substantially at one apex of the hypo-cycloidal path of the ductor roller 18, so that, when said ductor roller comes in contact therewith, it will be moving at its slowest rate of speed. The primary distributing rollers 20 and 200 are preferably arranged at points intermediate the apices of the hypocycl-oidal path of the ductor-roller, so that when said ductor roller comes in contact with said primary distributing rollers, it will be moving at a higher rate of speed than when in contact with the fountain roller. If desired, the parts can be so arranged with respect to each other, that when the ductor is brought into contact with the primary distributing cylinders 200 and 20 and the fountain roller D, the same will be traveling at the same rate of speed as these parts. In practice, however, I prefer to arrange the points of contact so that the speed of the ductor will be slightly different from the peripheral speed of the parts with which it engages, so that the ductor roll-er will be turned or rotated in its bearings,

To compensate for wear of the ductor roller 18, the plates 15 and 16 may be turned out or adjusted to the desired position. This adjustment willmove the axis of the ductor gear 19, so that the ductor-roller will deviate somewhat from an exactly hypo-cycloidal path, but such an adjustment will not substantially change its points of contact with the fountain roller or the primary distributing rollers. In some cases also, instead of arranging the ductor-roller gear 13 to engage a stationary internal gear, the gear 13 may be actuated by a pinion journaled on the shaft 10, and driven in any desired manner.

In order to interrupt the direct transmission of a fresh daub of ink through the train of distributing and compensating rollers, one or more of the distributing rollers, as 24, may be provided with a flat place, as f, and the cylinder 24 may be so timed that it will not take the fresh daub of ink from the composition roller 27, but will allow said daub of fresh ink to be returned to the distributing roller 23 for further distribution.

I am aware that changes may be made in my inking apparatus by those who are skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims, for example, instead of providing the distributing roller 24 with a flat place to secure a more perfect distribution of the ink, the roller 24 may be mounted so that .it will be moved out of peripheral engagement with the composition roller 27 when the daub of fresh ink reaches the point of contact. I do not wish, therefore, to be limited to the form which I have shown and described, but

What I do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a fountain-roller, a distributing roller, and an orbitally moving ductor-roller arranged to engage the fountainroller and distributing roller When moving at different relative speeds.

2. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a fountain-roller, a distributing-roller, a ductor roller, and means for moving the ductor-roller in a noncircular orbit so as to engage the fountain roller and the distributing roller when moving at different relative speeds.

3. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a ductor-roller, and means for moving the ductor-roller in a substantially hypo-cycloidal orbit.

4. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a fountain-roller, a plurality of distributing rollers, and an orbitally moving ductor-roller arranged to engage the fountain-roller and the plurality of distributing rollers when moving at different relative speeds.

5. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a fountain-roller, a plurality of distributing rollers, a ductorroller, and means for moving the ductorroller in a non-circular orbit so as to engage the fountain roller and said plurality of distributing rollers When moving at different relative speeds.

6. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a ductor-roller, means for moving the ductor roller in a substantially hypo-cycloidal orbit, a fountain roller arranged to engage the ductor-roller at one apex of its orbit,.and distributing rollers arranged to engage the ductor-roller at points intermediate of the apices of its orbit.

7. In an inking apparatus for printing presses, the combination of a fountain, a duotor taking ink therefrom, and a set of distributing rollers and composition rollers to Which the ink is conveyed by said ductor, one of said distributing rollers having a flat section or depression timed to pass the fresh daub of ink on its supplying composition roller, whereby said composition roller Will take the fresh daub of ink from its supplying distributing roller and re-deposit the same back on said distributing roller for further distribution before it is carried forward in the set of rollers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set WV. J. KITCHEN, M. J. MORRISON 

